The Jefferson City School District Board of Education welcomed a new member and renewed its participation in a stipend program for teachers at its April meeting Thursday.
During the open forum portion of the meeting, Shelley Thompson, president of the Jefferson City National Education Association, told the board that JCNEA fully supports the Career Ladder program. She also expressed support for some of the recruitment and retention-focused legislation making its way through the Missouri Legislature, including additional scholarship opportunities for those who commit to teach in hard-to-staff areas.
The district also voted to enter into a contract for a pilot program with EverDriven, which will provide passenger vehicles to transport early childhood special education students during summer school, allowing other buses to be diverted for different routes.
The board welcomed new member Suzanne Luther, along with previous members Brad Bates and Scott Hovis, who were elected on April 4 in the general municipal election.
Superintendent Bryan McGraw honored outgoing board member Lori Massman, who has served on the board since 2017, but elected not to run this year.
Massman pledged to continue supporting children in the community.
The board selected Lindsey Rowden as board president, Erika Leonard as vice president, Brad Bates as treasurer and Stephanie Sappenfield as secretary. Anne Bloemke-Warren was selected as board delegate and Suzanne Luther as alternate delegate.
During the reports portion of the meeting, Deputy Superintendent Heather Beaulieu shared a number of ongoing and upcoming efforts to increase teacher recruitment and retention. They include:
The Career Ladder program
Two preschool classrooms for staff children, with a third planned for the fall
Minimal increases in insurance costs
Salary increases
Personnel support such as behavioral interventionists and instructional coaches
College credit reimbursement
A revamped mentor program
Job fair participation
Exploration of an in-district master’s program
Chief of Operations Dawn Berhorst said in her report that all interior finishes should be done in Capital City High School’s stadium within two weeks. The stadium is expected to be an option for a graduation venue.
The board voted to renew the Career Ladder program, which provides stipends for teachers who complete a certain number of hours of work outside of contract time, such as sponsoring a club. Around 500 teachers participated this year, and so far, the applications for the next school year are at about the same number as this year. Next year, Beaulieu said the district will require that 25 of the total hours required be direct student interaction hours.
The board also amended the budget to reflect increased revenue from local taxes and higher interest income. It also saw increased expenditures in substitute services because of increased hours and pay, and higher food costs.